An ultrasonic aerosol therapy nebulizer using electroformed palladium–nickel alloy nozzle plates

Aerosol therapy is a common treatment for traditional lung diseases, particularly asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), by using nebulizers as oral drug delivery systems. The nebulized drug droplets can be smaller than 4 μm in diameter and be efficiently absorbed by alveoli through inhalation. An ultrasonic nebulizer with a high frequent vibration through a nebulizer nozzle plate can nebulize large sized drug droplets into small sized drug droplets. Therefore, the dimension of the orifices of the nebulizer nozzle plate is crucial for an efficient aerosol therapy.An ultrasonic nebulizer comprises the palladium–nickel alloy made nozzle plate, a RLC high frequency driving circuit and a PZT transducer was developed and tested. The nozzle plate with 4-μm-diameter nozzle orifices used in this nebulizer is made of electroformed palladium–nickel alloy, which is biocompatible, corrosion resistant, and a stiff material. Using nebulizer spray testing, this study compares the characteristics of the nozzle orifice diameter compared to the nebulized liquid droplet size. The test results successfully demonstrated that the nozzle orifice diameter could affect the nebulized liquid droplet size. In addition, the nebulized liquid droplet size was 3 μm, while the nozzle orifice diameter was 5 μm.